Haha, bullet trains would be amazing, although Japan is on a much smaller scale than the U.S. so I'm not certain how that would impact building them. Sadly the lack of quality infrastructure in this country makes life far more difficult.

Haha, bullet trains would be amazing, although Japan is on a much smaller scale than the U.S. so I'm not certain how that would impact building them. Sadly the lack of quality infrastructure in this country makes life far more difficult.

And we don't have the money to invest to fix it. I think national security would be a big concern as well. Imagine if those Boston bombers ever decided to attack the subways for example?

Now multiply that by 1000 and that's the security concerns for bullet trains connecting the whole country.

But man, it would be amazing if it ever happened. We would only need planes for international transportation.

Yeah we just don't have the infrastructure to have rail like that unfortunately. The Acela to Boston takes longer than 4 hours and is pretty expensive. There is just no point to train it up unless it's a last resort to driving.

Yep, and sadly it's just much more difficult to address in this country. In Japan, France, England, etc. it's easy because you can address these issues since they're on such a small scale. The U.S. is massive compared to most of these countries with excellent infrastructure. It's so much harder to tackle here.

It's why I laugh when people say how easy education reform is. It's not like Sweden or France. We have 300 million people spread out across one of the biggest and most diverse populations in the world. What is right for one group of people may not be right for the other.

Yeah we made a decision that we were going to be a car country under Eisenhower and that was pretty much the end of the story. It would be impossible to switch that at this point.

That's not really true, but it would take the us changing the way we tackle big problems by getting more regional solutions. That's how you sidestep the problems of scale that hold america back when compared to most european nations.

__________________
BK

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcheTen

JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaddon41_80

Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly.

Yep, and sadly it's just much more difficult to address in this country. In Japan, France, England, etc. it's easy because you can address these issues since they're on such a small scale. The U.S. is massive compared to most of these countries with excellent infrastructure. It's so much harder to tackle here.

It's why I laugh when people say how easy education reform is. It's not like Sweden or France. We have 300 million people spread out across one of the biggest and most diverse populations in the world. What is right for one group of people may not be right for the other.

I think it can be done, we just have to start small and build. Like if we had a bullet that connected NYC, Boston, LA, SF, and Chicago, and then work on the connecting lines from there, it's possible.

It's really no different from some of the transfer panel links I design, just replace pipes with train tracks and we're good to go. I think security and cost vs profit are the big hurdles.

That and we have some guys in powerful positions who wouldn't want to see that happen bc it would make their pockets lighter.

Education needs to be tackled by each state. Federal government can't handle it bc of logistics.

That's not really true, but it would take the us changing the way we tackle big problems by getting more regional solutions. That's how you sidestep the problems of scale that hold america back when compared to most european nations.

Regional solutions don't work in a country as large as ours. The cost of changing the country from car based to rail based is astronomical. It is impossible. We need continuity in the whole country unless we jeopardize the economic system.

Regional solutions don't work in a country as large as ours. The cost of changing the country from car based to rail based is astronomical. It is impossible. We need continuity in the whole country unless we jeopardize the economic system.

See people say stuff like that, but I don't agree with that at all, regional solutions are the only ones that can work in a country this big.

__________________
BK

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcheTen

JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaddon41_80

Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly.

I agree with Rosebud. There are certain issues that have to be addressed and considered nationally, but because we're so spread out and have different ideas and backgrounds, it is impossible to nationalize any major idea.

For example, reforming the education policy in New York is likely not going to work in south side Chicago, where the biggest concerns are gang violence and such.

Just like in middle American, a bullet train probably isn't feasible, cost effective, etc., where as in NY/Boston it is.

Education is what it is. Honestly, it's not even about education anymore in this country. The education you receive at Cornell isn't that much different from Rutgers.

The different is status. Status and money plays a major role in what jobs you land as an adult. So if you want your kids to do well, put them through private schools and Ivy League schools. The investment is worth it, bc they're set up for the rest of their career bc of the name brand associated with their education.

It's wrong, it's ****** up, but that's how it is. When people see Ivy League on your resume they hire you. You can be the smartest most qualified person in the world, but if youre from an average rated college youre limited on the job market.

Ok that's it. Everyone here has homework now on the feasibility of a rail based system in this country.

It's not very feasible. It would be great, and perhaps it can be done on small scale (San Fran to LA, Boston to NY) but to expect anything more than that is too much.

And I agree with you to an extent, BBD. Maybe it's just my own experiences, but I've seen a lot of companies care less about where you go to school, and more how well you're able to apply what you've learned.

Now, Ivy league is a little different, because it has a tremendous reputation built over hundreds of years. However, I think the public/private universities are mostly all jumbled together. I don't think most employers care if you went to Michigan (considered a great school) compared to the University of Mississippi (a "lesser" school). Employers I've interacted with care more about how good the program of a school is rated. For example, the school I'm at now (Winthrop) is known for an amazing education program. Even at "better" schools like Clemson, where their education program is meh, their teachers are hired after Winthrop education grads.

It's not very feasible. It would be great, and perhaps it can be done on small scale (San Fran to LA, Boston to NY) but to expect anything more than that is too much.

And I agree with you to an extent, BBD. Maybe it's just my own experiences, but I've seen a lot of companies care less about where you go to school, and more how well you're able to apply what you've learned.

Now, Ivy league is a little different, because it has a tremendous reputation built over hundreds of years. However, I think the public/private universities are mostly all jumbled together. I don't think most employers care if you went to Michigan (considered a great school) compared to the University of Mississippi (a "lesser" school). Employers I've interacted with care more about how good the program of a school is rated. For example, the school I'm at now (Winthrop) is known for an amazing education program. Even at "better" schools like Clemson, where their education program is meh, their teachers are hired after Winthrop education grads.

It's more about specialization than just the name of your school.

Yeah the name only means something if the college's reputation transcends their programs, like Princeton, Duke, Harvard etc.

In the sciences and engineering, it definitely makes a difference. I've seen people who are not qualified at all, who just went to Ivy League schools come straight out of college with higher titles and higher paying jobs just bc of their education.

It's a PR thing too, HR loves having those credentials in the company for marketability. It's F'd up but in my field, it happens. I had to work twice as hard, get higher level education and certificates and really build my experience just to get on the same level as a Rutgers alum vs a guy I'm working with who went to Cornell, bc "he went to Cornell"

It's BS. And he's a complete idiot too. He's getting fired soon. But that's not the point, he got the same opportunity with 1/4th the credentials. That's just a bias the industry has.

Lesson learned for me. When I went to college I thought Ivy League was overrated. I'm gonna do whatever I can to put my kids through Ivy League.